In the Floating Castle
by Lady of the Sky
Summary: It's a world of almost unimaginable potential. Everything in points and skills, with nothing in your way between you and success. But the danger is just as great in Aincrad. Once you're in the floating castle, there's no out until you win. "But can we do it, Hal? Do you really think we'll make it out?" She scoffs, rolls her eyes. "Of course, Emmi. There's no way we can't."
1. Chapter 1

"Happy birthday, little brother. Blow out the candles and make a wish."  
"Hn." Emil glances up from his book to see his sister holding out a cupcake in one hand and her phone in the other. "There's just one candle on that, Hal."

"A candle nonetheless. You'll get your wish granted more easily this way, besides." She smiles at him and gestures for him to sit up. "Come on, be quick about it." Despite himself, Emil smiles slightly.

"Alright, alright…" He closes his eyes for a few seconds, looking rather serious, and Haldora has to resist the urge to start laughing. When he opens his eyes, he raises a brow at her expression but says nothing and blows out the single flame. "Done."

"What did you wish for?" she inquires curiously.

"I can't tell you, or it won't come true," Emil replies, huffing slightly. Haldora's smile grows wider as she stops recording video.

"I'm glad you still believe in magic, little brother." A roll of his eyes.

"Don't act surprised. You wouldn't let me not believe in magic if I tried."

"Very true." She pockets her phone and hands Emil the cupcake, shaking her head when he tries to offer her a bite. "I made fourteen. That's your 'one to grow on,' if I understand the practice correctly."

"Are you implying I'm smaller than average?"

"I'm not implying that at all. It is just… a tradition I heard of while I was an exchange student. I might have gotten it wrong, though…" Emil shrugs.

"It's pretty good, so I'm not complaining." His sister ruffles his hair.

"Good. After you're done, we can get a few more if you'd like, or just go straight to presents." His face brightens.

"You got me presents?"

"Of course I did. I do every year." She holds up a hand to stop him before he starts to speak. "And yes, I got you actual presents. You've got some from Mother and Father, too, you know."

"Well, yeah, but…" He shrugs. "They don't know what I want, so I'm not too excited for socks and ties."

"Fair enough." She brushes some icing off his nose, then gestures for him to follow. "Come on, everything's in the living room." He stands up and follows her there, where he's surprised to see a few oddly shaped boxes.

"I wonder what those are…"

"Wonder, wonder, but don't start opening until I start recording," Haldora commands, going over to the digital camera. "Easier than the phone for this. Go, go, sit."

"Alright, alright…" he replies, rolling his eyes with a fake sigh and flopping onto the couch. "Ready?" Haldora nods and gives him a thumbs up. At that, he tears into the first package. It's a stack of books, a few of which are mythology.

"Do you like them?"

"Yeah, of course. This one, especially," he murmurs, running his fingertips over the cover of an old epic. "Is this your copy?"

"It is," she replies with a nod. "But you always liked this one best, so I thought you should have it. That's not a problem, is it?" Emil smiles at her, hugging the book to his chest.

"Not at all. Thank you, Hal."

"So very welcome," Haldora says, ruffling his hair lightly and kissing his forehead. She laughs when he flushes and tries to rub it off. "Next one~ Careful with this, it's fragile."

"Right." He takes the next package she hands him, this one rather weighty and unbalanced. "What could this…" He opens it carefully and slowly raises a plastic cup containing a Betta fish out. The fish is dark blue with several iridescent colors on its flowing fins. "…Aurora."

"Aurora?" His sister can't help bursting into laughter at that. "Bror, you know that's a male fish, right?"

"Male?" Emil asks, looking at her in confusion. "But it's so pretty and frilly… Whatever, I'm keeping the name," he decides, staring at the fish and ignoring the burning in his cheeks. "I just hope Mr. Puffin doesn't eat him…"

"Naming never was your strong suit," she muses, now picking up a glass fishbowl with a plastic top from behind the couch. "This should keep that meddling bird from killing your fish."

"He's not meddling. He's just.. outspoken."

"He's not cute at all about it," Haldora mutters as she pulls something thin and rectangular from the couch cushions.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a re- What's that?" Emil asks, curiosity piqued.

"Hm, I don't know." The smile on his sister's face is rather prideful. "Why don't you open it and tell me?"

"Don't have to tell me twice." In seconds, the paper is gone, and Emil is staring dumbfounded at the gift. "I-is this serious?"

"One hundred percent. Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? I love it!" He hops up and starts dancing around, and Haldora's all the more pleased she's recording this. "How'd you get SAO? What'd you have to do? You said you didn't do anything cool while you were on foreign exchange, and now this- What's that smirk for?"

"Well, for one, I lied about not doing anything. I was a Beta tester. I got two copies; one for me, one for you," she answers, ticking them off on her fingers. "And we've already got our NerveGear, of course." Her smirk turns into a grin. "I asked, and Mor and Far said it was alright for me to take you with me when I go back, at least for a while. So, in about a week, I'll take you with me to Japan so we can start the game. I read that it's going to have servers elsewhere later, but right now they're only in Japan. Should pick up when they start selling them in other countries- Oh, I can explain later. For now, want more cake?"

"I don't mind if you go on and get yours. I want to put Aurora in the bowl for right now."

"Be quick about it, or I'll eat all the carrot cake."

"'Kay." With a nod, he takes his new things up to his room and sorts them out. Emil sets up the fishbowl on his nightstand before carefully placing Aurora inside it. He stares at the fish for a while, watching it flit around in its new home, before deciding the fish is sufficiently pleased and flops back onto his bed. Emil studies the game case in his hands. 'Sword Art Online… I can hardly believe it… This is gonna be great, I know it.'

"Emmi! Hurry up before I get to the red velvet, too!"

"Oh, no you don't!" He gives the game one last look before tossing it onto his bed and dashing down the stairs. "Don't put your germs all over it, I want that one!"


	2. Chapter 2

Emil is practically vibrating with all his excited and nervous energy. The news is on, and the game case is in his hands, begging him to open it and put it in the NerveGear where it belongs.

'Hal said it was unlike anything I could imagine… I wonder what it'll be like to actually be in that world.' He glances at the clock and is a bit startled by how fast the time went. The game is in the system and the NerveGear on in a flash.

"Emil?" His sister peeks in his cracked door at him. "It's about time to start, are you ready?" He gives her a nod in response, and she returns it with a smile. "Alright, then. I'll be at the weapons stand with the NPC wearing the blue headscarf."

"'Kay. I'll- hey, wait, what will your screenname be?" But she's already left down the hall. He sighs a bit, then jumps when he sees the time. "I'd better log on…" Emil takes a deep breath before putting the helmet on. He switches the system on, lies down, and stares up at his ceiling.

'Well, here goes. A whole new world.'

"Link start!"

A flash of brilliant colors rush past him, and he's a bit scared. His body is nonexistent and he's entirely engulfed in the electronic slipstream. Language is chosen almost instantly, but name is a bit harder. 'What do I want to be..' _'Lundi the Fierce'_ pops up on the screen after a moment of thought, and he sighs. 'Hal's right, I am terrible at names… I should have asked her ahead of time.' Thinking about his terrible naming skills reminds him of his fish, Aurora, and he gets an idea. _'Prince Borealis'_ appears on the screen, and he smiles.

He's made his avatar ahead of time, and in no time, he's in the shape, testing it out. Everything feels natural, and he goes on to the last part of the log on. 'Time to see what this world has to offer.'

Emil, or rather, Prince Borealis, manifests in what looks like a town plaza. He blinks, looking around himself curiously. His higher vantage point is more noticeable now that he's in an actual playing location rather than a field of white, and he takes a few cautious steps. To his minor surprise, he doesn't stumble over the taller legs, nor feel awkward about the increase in bulk. 'So far, so good. Now, Hal told me to meet her at a weapons stand…'

Prince Borealis frowns a little, noting that being in the middle of the plaza means everything's a fair distance away. And this town is rather huge, too.. 'It'll take forever to go to all the stalls… What was she thinking?' He squints a little at a faint smudge of blue, and is surprised when his vision suddenly zooms in and focuses like a pair of high tech binoculars. "Amazing…" Sure enough, the smudge is the headscarf of a weapons dealer, and quite certainly an NPC, seeing as it's much too early in the game for any players to have set up any shops. He doesn't see Haldora yet, but there aren't many people in the area, so she shouldn't be hard to find when she shows up. Prince Borealis starts walking toward the stand, stopping periodically to check the distance.

It doesn't take him long at all to get there, but when he arrives there, only the NPC and a blond man are at the stand. He waves off the salesperson's greeting of "Hello! Are you wanting a sword, my good man?" in favor of looking around.

"Excuse me, are you lost?" Prince Borealis turns around at the sound of the smooth voice, and flushes after a moment when he realizes it's the blond man.

"I- No, I'm not lost, just looking for someone."

"Oh? Well, is it a certain person, or just someone as adorable as you?" The man flashes him a hint of a smile, and he feels his cheeks grow warmer.

"I, um… Looking for my sister…"

"Perhaps I can help you find her? I get the feeling it won't be nearly as hard as you think."

"I think maybe it will.." he mutters with a shake of his head. "I don't see any girls around." The blond shrugs, linking his arm through the other's.

"Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Until you find her, I think I'll take you, yes?"

"Ye- wait, no!" he stutters. "You're handsome and all, but you can't just take me like that! Hal will be upset with me- um, whoever you are!"

"What's so wrong with disappearing with a handsome gentleman?"

"The disappearing part! I can't have her not knowing where I am." The blond man snorts.

"I don't think that will be an issue," he replies, and he quickly descends into a fit of giggles.

'Wait a second…' There's something about that laughter that he recognizes, and he turns the man's face toward him. "Haldora? Is that you?"

"Got me~" she trills teasingly, not at all looking very sorry. "So clever, baby brother. I thought for a second I was going to have to tell you myself."

"It's not funny, Hal!" he huffs, pouting.

"It was a little." She manages to stop her fit and straightens up. "So, you like boys? Or am I just that attractive?"

"Hal! I'm thirteen, gods!" He turns away from her, now looking at the swords on the NPC's table. "And honestly, I didn't know it was you, so you can't count it as a matter of gender. I can't see you as anything but my sister. Like, now you aren't a handsome gentleman anymore, you're my... brother. Ew. Who flirted with me.. What the Hel, seriously?"

"It was funny to me. Anyway, you don't need to buy a sword yet. You start off with something. Check your inventory."

"How do I do that?" She rolls her eyes, making a slicing motion through the air with her hand.

"Open the menu and follow the instructions."

"Right…" After a little fiddling, he manages to figure it out and gets to his sword. Or rather, dagger. "New Stone Blade…"

"Pretty cool. Let's go test it." She- or rather, he- leads Borealis out of the town and into a plains area. It would look like any normal grassland, were it not for the rather oddly built hogs with red eyes ambling around.

"Hal… those are pretty creepy looking." He inches away from them, forgetting for a moment how much bigger than them he is.

"Mm, yeah. But they're not hard to deal with. There are wolves, too, should I show you those next?"

"No, no, no, do not want. If these hogs are anything to go by, the wolves must look like something out of a nightmare."

"Kinda, yeah." She takes out her own dagger. "Now, the key to this is letting the skill warm up. Just pull back and hold it-" She demonstrates the movement. "And just- let it go." At that, she whips her arm forward and throws the weapon straight through one of the hogs.

"Wow… That's pretty cool. Is it hard to do?" A shake of her- his head.

"Not even a little. It's not strength based, just skill." She frowns slightly and sends a party request to Prince Borealis.

"Eh?"

"In case we split up, I need to know where you are. It's better this way, trust me."

"Fiiiine…" Borealis accepts the friend request from… "Halli? That's a bit simplistic, really."

"Yeah, well." She snickers a little. "Yours is on the gaudy side, _my prince_. Still, way better than your usual, so nice work."

"…That was so backhanded it'd knock a tennis ball off the court."

"Why, thank you, my liege. Would you like to try it?"

"Sure, whatever." He pulls back, loads the skill, and burst forward, slicing one of the hogs in half. "That good?"

"Very. You'll do well in this world," she comments with a nod of her head. "Let's see… I'll teach you about shops and stands next, alright?"

"Okay. Do we go to that one with the NPC we met at?"

"Don't need a weapon," Halli reminds him, opening her inventory. "But there are some items I want to grab first. Everything's limited and regulated here, like in the real world."

•×•×•

They're at a stand when it happens. It's one selling scarves, one of which Prince Borealis insisted on having. They've just handed over the coins when a white light starts at their feet.

"Hal, what's-?"

"Forced teleport." She frowns. "This isn't supposed to- Emil give me your-!"

Before Halli can grab ahold of his hand, they both disappear, reappearing in the main plaza.

"Emil! Emil, where are you?" She calls him and looks around, hoping he's nearby, but she doesn't see him, and she realizes how easily she could lose him here. 'Well, I still have the party, and if that fails, I'll talk to him when we log out…'

A loud, obnoxious blaring sounds through the square, and a series of red hexagons mosaic the sky, filling it in with the word "WARNING" as far as they can see. People start to huddle in closer nervously as a frightening red sludge slips through the almost nonexistent cracks between the hexagons. The slime takes form as a hooded figure, and despite her better logic, Haldora can feel panic edging at her mind. 'This is too much, event or not…' She swipes her hand through the air and goes to the main menu.

"What?!"

There's no logout button. 'Maybe it's just temporary…' At this point, she starts listening to the figure, Kayaba Akihito.

"Some of you may have noticed there is no logout button." He calls up his menu with his giant hand, shows the missing command. "I am telling you right now this is intentional. It is not a glitch in the game, but a feature of Sword Art Online."

Haldora stops listening. To Akihito, anyway. She's instead focusing on her own thoughts. 'If there's no getting out until we win, what could we do? I only got to sixth floor in the Beta, and I know they made it harder now… If that's five floors a month, being generous, and there are a hundred floors… Twenty months… Almost two years, and that's being hopeful.' She sinks onto her knees and doesn't even register the first scream or the sudden uproar around her. Nothing makes an impact except her swirling thoughts until a familiar voice is heard.

"Hal! Hal, where are you?" The yelling's not very loud at all- it'd be hard to hear from any real distance, or to even recognize as an exclamation. But it's persistent, and it gets her to look up. The source of the yelling gets closer and puts a hand on her shoulder, making her turn around.

"Emmi?" She's right to be surprised, because now Prince Borealis looks like, well, Emil. And with a start, she realizes that she's herself, too.

"Haldora, are you okay?" Emil lowers himself onto the ground in front of her, studying her with concern. He brushes his thumb under her eyes, and Haldora wonders when she started crying.

"I- I'm fine, Emil. Don't worry." She sighs and brushes her sleeve over her eyes. "I- we have to stay together all the time, okay? I can't be losing you. We'll figure something out."

"Okay…" He looks a little uncertain but doesn't question her, instead standing up and offering a hand to help her do the same. "Where do we go first?"

"Fields, around the paths surrounding the Town of Beginnings. Need to get points before anyone else. Don't wanna get stuck here." He nods.

"I'm kind of wishing I'd chosen a simpler name, now.. I don't exactly look very regal like this."

"Ha." The admission gets her to crack a smile, and she ruffles his hair lightly. "We'll find a nickname to use, then. I'll probably still call you Emmi, but we can't have other people knowing our names."

"Yours is easy, though," he huffs, pouting slightly. "'Halli' is a good name, even if it is a boy's one."

"Mm, yes. I just wish my skill in choosing names had passed onto you." She takes his hand and starts walking, dodging the crowd of people and pulling him along. "I am the one who named you."

"Are you serious?"

"Mmhm. Mother and father wanted to name you Blær. Wouldn't have worked. 'Emil' is way cooler, anyway."

"Totally."


	3. Chapter 3

"This is boring."

"Hush." Halli lightly flicks Prince's ear for his complaint. "It's important."

"But Hal, why do _I_ have to be the one to do the listening skill? You're the one who thinks it's important, so why don't you have it? Your ears were better out- um, before, anyway."

"So, you need to learn, then." She covers his eyes again with the scarf and readies the dart. "Tell me how far away this lands." A skilled throw sends it flying off through the woodland.

"To the left, about twenty meters," he replies after a moment of concentration.

"No, that's not even close."

"Well, I heard something there. You look, since you won't let me." Halli rolls her eyes but turns in the direction her brother pointed out.

"Fine, if you really- Someone's there." She quickly uncovers Prince's eyes and pulls him behind a tree. "Climb." He frowns but does as he's asked, scaling the tree with a bit of difficulty.

"Why do we-?" His sister hushes him, and he lowers his voice to a whisper. "Why do we have to hide? It's just another player, I don't see the problem." Halli shakes her head, squinting at the other player to snap them into focus.

"This isn't just another game. If someone's walking alone in the woods, I'm going to be careful."

"We're walking alone in the woods, though."

"Not alone, in a pair- shut up already."

The player looks around confused for a moment, and the two realize he must have seen them before. After a couple minutes of searching the area, the player sighs and sits down in the grass. He seems to have given up before his eyes flick up toward two faint green lights mixed in with the greenery of the trees. Halli frowns, her fingers tightening on Prince's arm. The other player waves to them and stands, starting to walk to the tree.

"Hello! The name's Eagle, mind coming down?" He waits for the two patiently, apparently not getting that they don't seem to be coming down any time soon. After a minute of staring, he scratches his head and leans against the truck. "Are you stuck? I can catch you or something."

"...What."

"Oh, come on, Hal. He doesn't look like a murderer." With that, Prince unceremoniously drops out of the branches, landing on his feet in front of Eagle. "Nice to meet you," he greets him, offering a hand to shake. "I'm Prince Borealis, and the xenophobe up there is my sister, Halli."

"Prince Borealis? Like aurora borealis?" Eagle takes the smaller boy's hand to shake eagerly, and Prince can't help being grateful that he can't feel pain in the game. "That's a really cool name!" He looks up at the scowling teenager in the tree. "Hi, Halli!"

"Hn..." Halli jumps down from the tree and stares up at Eagle. He steps back a half step and runs a hand through his blond hair nervously. "What do you want." Her tone is flat, making it sound less like a question and more like a demand.

"Um..." He straightens up and smiles again. "Well, I was looking for people for a meeting! There's this guy named Diabel, he says that they've found the first dungeon!" That certainly gets their attention.

"The first dungeon, are you serious?" Prince inquires excitedly.

"Uhuh! If we pass it, we're right on our way just like that! I don't know where it is, but they're gonna tell us and make a plan for getting through at the meeting. I thought I'd find some more good players to tell, and where better to look than somewhere people train?"

"Suppose so. What are we expected to do in this meeting?"

"Mostly talk and plan stuff, party up and everything. You guys down with that?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool," Prince replies enthusiastically.

"I guess, if there's nothing else to do," Halli answers, feigning disinterest. Prince scoffs.

"Stop acting like you can't be bothered, you know you want to go."

"Quiet, lillebror."

"Don't call me tha-"

"Oh, you're the younger one?" Eagle's question causes them both to look at him.

"N-" Prince's protest is rather easily cut off by his sister.

"He is, so if you have any questions for him, you'll ask me," she says decisively.

"'S fine with me, if it's fine with him," he responds agreeably. "Which I kinda think it isn't, but... He said he's coming, so you'll have to, too! You won't know everything if you're not at the meeting." Eagle cackles as he sends them both a copy of the message. "Later!" He gives them a mock salute before running off into the woods.

"He's..." Prince falters for a proper descriptor. "Something..."

"He weaseled us into that. I think I'm in love," Halli states blandly.

"Great. Maybe you can marry him and steal all of his items."

"Later, grasshopper. I must play the field, so to speak." She gives him something of a blank, yet michievous look. "I can't be marrying someone _too _smart. Control of the male is essential in any relationship." Prince scoffs.

"No wonder your last boyfriend ran away screaming..."

"His fault for thinking pretty meant stupid, slutty, and passive," she huffs indignantly. "I did him a favor, now he doesn't have to worry about the responsibility of children."

"I don't know whether to be horrified or glad I'm your brother and therefore safe..." He sighs, stretching a little. "Can we go back now? I don't want to deal with this any longer for now. Listening is boring."

"Hm... Yeah. You've done enough for today." Halli returns her darts to her inventory, watching Prince wrap his scarf back around his neck. "Tired yet?" He shakes his head, calling up his menu.

"It's only 1:00 PM, so we still have time to do things." He thinks for a moment. "Aside from training... Hungry?"

"Hm, sure. Tavern or cooking?" She takes ahold of the side of his jacket and starts pulling him along with her, which he doesn't bother protesting to.

"Who would be cooking? There are way too many ingredients in this game for it to make much sense..."

"Fair point. We'll spend a day experimenting with that, then. Tavern for now."

_[A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating much, my internet's out right now. Huzzah for libraries! I'm going to edit chapter two a bit, I think- it should be done by the time this chapter is up. Chapter four is more than half done- three quarters, really. Just a bit of uncertainty is keeping me from posting it now, but it shouldn't be as long as the other two updates have been. Thank you for your patience, everyone whose read this. And if you have any suggestions for the story, ideas, maybe a few requests for it, please do let me know. Or just review, PM, ask questions, whatever, I don't bite. Best of luck, all!]_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Alright, with that said, let's party up and get ready!" Diabel flashes everyone a winning smile, and he's met with plenty of positive response. He steps down and starts mixing with other people, the attention soon off him and onto the task at hand.

"Who're we going to work with?" Prince asks, studying the players in the small stadium.

"I don't think we have to work with anyone else, really."

"He said six players, Hal. We're just two."

"We'd be fine."

"Stop being difficult." Prince frowns, scanning the crowd again. Most people are already grouping up, and he sighs. "Almost everyone's taken already..."

"Cool. Oh, I mean-" Halli clears her throat and attempts a distressed expression. "Oh no, how could this be happening? Looks like we don't have to talk to any-"

"Wait, I found some people, never mind!" Prince hops up and starts for someone nearby.

"Damn." She sighs, watching him with a sour expression on her face.

"Excuse m- are you asleep?" Prince lightly nudges the cloaked figure, getting a groan in response.

"Ngh..." The person falls over onto his side.

"What." He shakes them again, this time getting no response. "You have to be kidding me..." He huffs and sits down next to the dozing person, waiting for them to wake up. Just as his curiousity is getting the better of him and he starts to reach for the hood-

"-Was thinking maybe we could-" The person sits back up straight as he speaks, scaring the hell out of Prince and making his hood fall back. "Huh?" He frowns, looking around confusedly. "I could have sworn there was someone-" His green eyes lock onto the white haired boy sitting next to him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I might as well have! You were just dead asleep and then popped back up like a jack-in-the-box, talking like you were having a conversation."

"Oh." The cloaked male yawns, shaking his head as if to clear it. "So that's what happened, then. I fell asleep talking to someone, sorry if I startled you. Or maybe I was sleep talking. I'll have to sleep on this issue..." His eyes start to drift closed again.

"Wha- no, aren't you going to party up with someone? That's why I'm over here!"

"Hm?" The drowsy stranger blinks sleepily at Prince Borealis. "Oh, really? That's nice of you. Can we take a nap together afterwards?"

"Bad boy." A much shorter boy appears behind him and lightly flicks his ear. "You're not tired, you're just lazy."

"I am a little, I suppose... Sleep is important, though. I like naps. And cats. Cat naps."

"Hm." The shorter glances at Prince, adjusting the bag he's holding. "He was sleeping when you found him, then?"

"Yeah. I tried to wake him up, should I not do that?"

"It's fine. I always try to wake him if I can." His brows furrow slightly, and he pulls his friend's ear. "Hypnos. Were you awake for any of it?"

"Bad dog." Hypnos swats the hand away. "I was. I just went out when we were supposed to choose parties. But there's this guy, um..." He guestures vaguely at Prince.

"Prince Borealis," he fills in. "You're Hypnos, then?" A nod.

"And that's Anubis." Anubis makes a face, and Hypnos gives an explanation. "We chose each other's names and avatars, which in retrospect.."

"Wasn't a very good idea." Anubis looks Prince up and down. "Do you have a nickname we can call you? I'm not saying that every time I talk to you."

"My sister calls me Prince, sarcastically 'my liege,' but..."

"Prince or Liege will do fine." Anubis sends a party request to Prince Borealis and Hypnos, which Prince accepts right away and Hypnos frowns at.

"I'm already in a party with you."

"Different one. I'll disband this one after, maybe, can't disband the one with you. Where's this sister of yours?"

"Here." Halli lightly nudges her way in between Hypnos and Anubis to sit next to her brother. "So you actually found someone, then?"

"Yeah. This is Anubis and the rather ironically named Hypnos."

"The irony's there for him, worry not," Hypnos assures with a smirk.

"Ass. What's your name, Liege's sister? I need to send you a party-" A small dialogue box appears in front of Anubis, and he shrugs. "Sure, whatever.. Halli," he affirms, accepting the party request and linking them together. "So, you know the time and everything? I don't, and I doubt this one-" he lightly flicks his friend's forehead as his eyes drift closed again- "actually remembers anything."

"Forest on the north side of the Town of Beginnings," Hypnos begins, "near the Shrine of Memory, seventeen hundred paces, turn left at the twisted oak, right at the elm with the cracked branch. Entry is covered in ivy, black obsidian doors. Time for leaving is ten in the morning, I estimate we'll get there after... thirty minutes, considering location and terrain." The instructions are rattled off without a hint of hesitation, and Anubis gives a sound of approval.

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around." He looks back at Halli and Prince Borealis. "So, do we pick you up, you pick us up, or we meet at the leaving point?"

"Your place or the meeting point is fine," Halli replies, studying them carefully.

"Meeting point, then," Anubis answers, staring at her just as searchingly. "Is there some problem I don't know about?"

"Not at all. Exactly the opposite. Everything's just fine." Halli smiles without any warmth behind it, then grabs her brother's wrist and stands. "Come along. More training."

"Aw, but Hal..."

"Whining earns you another hour."

"You're gonna add it anyway, I know it." Prince Borealis twists himself around enough to wave at the two party members as she pulls him along. "Bye, guys. See you tomorrow."

"I guess," Anubis replies noncommittally. Hypnos lightly whacks the back of his head.

"Don't start with that," he warns. To the white-haired boy, he answers, "We'll see you tomorrow."

•×•×•

_[A/N: I have to apologize, I know I'm taking a while in between updates. __I certainly hope I'm not apologizing to air, FF says people are reading, just not giving feedback, so I don't know if this is even well liked.__ I'm having continuing computer issues, but it shouldn't be too long before it's cleared up. Anyway, I noticed I didn't say who everyone is, so I'll do that now in case anyone can't tell. Haldora [Halli] is fem!Norway; Emil [Prince Borealis] is Iceland; Eagle is America; Hypnos is Greece; Anubis is Egypt. Diabel is a character already in SAO._


End file.
